QuickBooks For Churches: Best Church Accounting Software For Religious Organizations And Nonprofit Accountants
If you are a church leader, chances are you have heard of QuickBooks. QuickBooks is a robust accounting software that allows users to manage their finances efficiently.
But many churches don’t realize a particular version of Quickbooks is designed specifically for churches – Quickbooks Online.
Quickbooks Online offers all the same features as the regular desktop version of Quickbooks, but it also includes some extra features that make it even more helpful for nonprofit accounting.
Why QuickBooks For Churches Is The Best Choice For Church Accounting?
QuickBooks Online is an excellent choice for churches to manage their finances. With flexible and powerful tools, QuickBooks Online streamlines the entire accounting process for churches.
It provides restricted fund management tools, donation collection, and recording tools, the ability to add volunteers and staff members to the software, and bank syncing capabilities. QuickBooks Online is accessible from any device with an internet connection, making it easy to use on the go or from multiple locations.
Churches can customize their QuickBooks Online account to fit their unique needs, including setting up custom accounts and reports. Integrating QuickBooks Online with Donorbox allows for more innovative accounting and accessible donation tracking.
Using QuickBooks for churches allows a busy church administrator or bookkeeper to quickly provide a church Sr. Pastor or elder board with the required reports on the fly.
Small and medium-sized Churches and nonprofit organizations can take control of their finances and provide their members with essential general accounting data, increasing transparency and building trust within the community.
What To Consider When Choosing The Best Church Accounting Software For Churches?
1. QuickBooks for Churches: Features and functions
QuickBooks Online offers features specifically designed for churches, such as restricted fund management tools, donation collection, and recording tools, adding volunteers and staff to the software, and bank syncing capabilities. With QuickBooks, you can easily track expenses by committee, program, or fund and tag transactions to pastoral, youth, or worship groups.
QuickBooks also allows you to pay employees and contractors by direct deposit or check and generates W-2s and 1099s automatically. With QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced, you can access cash flow statements and other standard accounting reports, issue unique user IDs, and customize access levels for each volunteer.
2. QuickBooks for Churches: Cost and subscription
QuickBooks Online offers four subscription tiers for churches: Simple Start at $30 per month, Essentials at $55 per month, Plus $85 per month, and Advanced at $200 per month. All tiers include income and expense tracking, invoicing, and general reporting tools.
However, Integrity Now Insurance Brokers recommends the Essentials or Plus tiers for small to medium size churches as they offer advanced tools like bill management and multiple users. We do not recommend Simple Start as it lacks some of the most basic accounting tools, and you will be frustrated.
Large churches may want to upgrade to the Advanced accounting tier as it will provide you 25 user access and additional exclusive premium apps and reporting capabilities needed for large organizations.
3. QuickBooks for Churches: Ease of use
QuickBooks Online is a great accounting software solution for churches because it is user-friendly and easy to navigate. With its intuitive interface and simple processes, QuickBooks Online allows church administrators to easily manage their finances, collect and record donations, and keep track of restricted funds.
4. QuickBooks for Churches: Support
When choosing a good accounting software for your church, it is vital to consider the level of support it provides. QuickBooks Online offers many support options, including phone and chat support, a community forum, and a knowledge base. This level of support is crucial for churches, which often rely on volunteers to manage their finances.
5. QuickBooks for Churches: Security
QuickBooks Online offers various security features crucial for churches to consider when choosing accounting software. These features include multi-factor authentication, data encryption, automatic backups, and access controls.
6. QuickBooks for Churches: Customization
QuickBooks Online offers customization features, including restricted fund management tools, donation collection, and recording tools, adding volunteers and staff members, and credit card and bank syncing capabilities.
7. QuickBooks for Churches: Reliability
QuickBooks Online is a reliable option that offers a high uptime rate, ensuring that your financial records are always accessible and up-to-date. This is especially important for churches, as they are responsible to their congregation and donors for accurate and readily available financial statements.
With QuickBooks Online, churches can easily create reports and track their finances, allowing them to demonstrate transparency and accountability to their community. Choosing reliable accounting software like QuickBooks Online can help churches optimize their financial management and ensure that their financial records are precise.
8. QuickBooks for Churches: Compatibility
QuickBooks products must work for you and not against your church software needs. Quickbooks for nonprofits provide everything a busy church administrator or bookkeeper needs to complete their task quickly.
9. QuickBooks for Churches: Reporting
Reporting is a critical aspect of church accounting, and QuickBooks Online offers a variety of reports to help church leaders make informed decisions. Year-end donor statements, financing for new building projects, budgeting for church programs, and expense tracking are just a few examples of the reports available.
To ensure accurate and efficient reporting, it is essential to organize financial data in QuickBooks Online. This can be achieved by tracking expenses by committee, program, or fund, tagging transactions to pastoral, youth, or worship groups, and tracking donations.
10. QuickBooks for Churches: Budgeting
When choosing accounting software for budgeting purposes, churches should consider the following factors:
- Ensuring that the software is tailored to the specific needs of nonprofit organizations such as churches is essential.
- The software should be easy to use, with a user-friendly interface that can be easily navigated by volunteers who may not have extensive accounting knowledge. QuickBooks offers a mobile app and customizable access levels for each volunteer.
- The software should provide real-time reporting and tracking for expenses and donations, allowing churches to monitor their finances efficiently and make informed decisions.
11. QuickBooks for Churches: Transactions and reports
QuickBooks Online for churches provides real-time tracking and reporting of transactions, allowing churches to stay up-to-date with their finances. Churches can view a summary of all donations and manage expenses such as salaries, utilities, and any other regular payments.
Churches can also track budget allocations with QuickBooks Online for churches to keep better control over spending and donations.
12. QuickBooks for Churches: Online features
QuickBooks Online is a customizable accounting software many churches find helpful in managing their finances. With features such as restricted fund management tools, donation collection and recording tools, and adding volunteers and staff members, QuickBooks can help churches accurately and efficiently track their gifts, donations, and expenses.
QuickBooks Online can be integrated with specialized church-giving software like Tithe.ly, making it an even more valuable tool for churches looking to manage their finances effectively. Church bookkeeping has never been easier, and nonprofits and churches set up QuickBooks and utilize its online features in minutes.
13. QuickBooks for Churches: Mobile access
When you need to know something while traveling or sitting at home, having mobile access to accounting software can help quickly answer a question without driving into your office. QuickBooks Online offers this feature, allowing church leaders to access their financial data from anywhere with an internet connection.
This means pastors, staff members, and volunteers can check donation records, review expenses, and manage budgets from mobile devices. Mobile access to financial data also means that decisions can be made quickly and efficiently without waiting until someone returns to the office.
14. QuickBooks for Churches: Data access
When using QuickBooks Online for church financial management, securing data access is crucial to protect sensitive financial information. Churches should prioritize data privacy and security to prevent unauthorized access and reduce the risks associated with financial mismanagement.
One way to ensure secure data access is by utilizing the various user roles available in QuickBooks Online. These roles allow for different levels of access to financial data, ensuring that only authorized personnel can access sensitive information.
For example, the “Administrator” role has full access to all features and data, while the “Reports Only” role can only view financial reports. It is essential to assign appropriate user roles to prevent unauthorized access and ensure secure data access.
Churches should regularly review and update their security measures, such as using strong passwords and enabling two-factor authentication, to enhance data privacy and security.
15. QuickBooks for Churches: Payroll Integration
By integrating payroll with QuickBooks Online, your church can enjoy several benefits. For one, it can help ensure that your church’s financial records are accurate and up-to-date. It can also save you time and reduce the risk of errors by automating tedious payroll tasks.
Integrating payroll with QuickBooks Online can help you comply with tax laws and regulations. The payroll integration is cost-effective and meets your small church accounting needs.
16. QuickBooks for Churches: Banking connectivity
One of our favorite things we love about Quickbooks online is its banking connectivity. It makes reconciling a breeze and removes hours of financial accounting work by establishing rules that automatically identify income and expenses. Tens of thousands of organizations trust Quickbooks, and we recommend Quickbooks to all our church insurance clients.
17. QuickBooks for Churches: Credit Card Transaction Integration
Integrating credit card transactions with QuickBooks Online can greatly benefit churches in keeping accurate financial records. With this feature, churches can easily track donations and expenses through credit cards, set up automated rules for monthly expenses paid by credit, allocate expenses to specific committees or funds, and generate detailed reports for meetings or annual reviews.
18. QuickBooks for Churches: Donor management
QuickBooks Online is a powerful tool that can help churches streamline their donor management. QuickBooks Online makes tracking expenses and donations by committee, program, or fund easy. This means churches can quickly understand how much cash they have and what expenses they cover.
Plus, managing donations and contributions becomes hassle-free with bank syncing capabilities, multiple user accounts, and the ability to tag transactions to mission trips, church-building projects, and more.
19. QuickBooks for Churches: GPS Mileage tracking
GPS Mileage tracking can greatly benefit churches that use QuickBooks Online as their accounting software. Here’s why:
- Accurate tracking: With GPS Mileage tracking, you can accurately track the distance traveled for church-related activities such as home visits, outreach events, and mission trips. This ensures that the church is reimbursing volunteers and staff accurately and fairly.
- Ease of use: QuickBooks Online makes it easy to track mileage using GPS. You can enter the starting and ending locations of the trip, and QuickBooks will automatically calculate the distance traveled using GPS.
- Cost-effectiveness: By accurately tracking mileage, the church can save on reimbursements by only paying for the distance traveled. This can result in significant cost savings over time.
20. QuickBooks for Churches: Employee Time Card Phone App Integration
Accurate employee time tracking is crucial in maintaining precise financial records for churches. By integrating an employee time card phone app with QuickBooks Online, churches can streamline their payroll process and avoid errors.
Benefits Of QuickBooks Online For Small Churches And Nonprofits
1. Streamlined accounting process
Here are some specific ways that QuickBooks Online simplifies tasks such as tracking donations, managing expenses, and generating financial reports:
- Tracking donations: QuickBooks Online allows churches to easily record and categorize donations, including cash, checks, and online payments. The software also includes tools for creating and sending donation receipts, tracking donor information, and generating reports on donation history.
- Managing expenses: QuickBooks Online makes it easy to track expenses related to church operations, such as rent, utilities, and supplies. The software allows users to categorize expenses by account and generate reports to analyze spending trends.
- Generating financial reports: QuickBooks Online provides a range of financial reports that can help churches stay on top of their finances. These include balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, and more. The software also allows users to customize reports to meet their specific needs.
2. Access to a range of software features
QuickBooks Online Advanced offers a range of features that can benefit churches and their accounting processes, including:
- Integration with church management software
- Accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning features
- Affordable self- and full-service payroll packages, which can save time and reduce errors
- Assisted with bookkeeping option
- Fixed-asset management and tracking, which can help churches keep track of their assets and depreciation
- Web-based access, which allows for easy access from multiple devices and locations
3. Ability to track and manage donations
QuickBooks Online is an excellent tool to help churches and other faith-based organizations easily track and manage their donations. With QuickBooks, churches can track their funds, donations, and expenses by committee, program, or fund.
QuickBooks tracks every dollar coming in and going out, and the software can predict your future income and cash flow. QuickBooks also allows you to set up automatic reports to be created and sent on any schedule, making it easy to create financial presentations for your board, committee, or congregants.
4. Ability to view and manage budget information
QuickBooks Online is a cloud-based accounting software that can help churches easily view and manage their budget information. It lets users track income and expenses by program service and compare the budget in real-time.
5. Access to support and beginner training
QuickBooks Online offers unlimited free customer support, which can be very helpful for beginners just starting to use the software. The platform also provides easy-to-learn user interfaces and beginner training options to help churches get started with their bookkeeping tasks.
6. Ability to integrate with other systems
By integrating with QuickBooks Online, churches can easily track donations, expenses, and other financial transactions in one centralized location. This feature saves time and eliminates the need for manual data entry, allowing churches to focus on their mission.
7. Ability to produce reports and track finances
With QuickBooks, churches can easily create various reports for various purposes, including year-end donor statements, financing for new building projects, and budgeting for church programs.
8. Ability to manage payroll and employee information
QuickBooks Online is a versatile software that can help churches manage payroll and employee information efficiently. With integrated Intuit Payroll, churches can quickly process their payroll and comply with IRS tax rules.
QuickBooks Online can track employee information, including personal details, medical information, and allowances for church leaders.
9. Ability to access online banking services
QuickBooks Online offers a range of benefits for churches looking to access online banking services. With its easy-to-use interface and secure platform, QuickBooks Online allows churches to connect to their bank and credit card accounts, reconcile bank accounts with or without bank feeds, and track funds and donations with class and location tracking.
10. Ability to store and access financial data
QuickBooks Online provides churches with a modern and efficient way to store and access financial data. Churches can easily manage their day-to-day operations and long-term plans with features like fund accounting, donation and pledge tracking, and reporting.
QuickBooks business accounting software allows churches or nonprofits to meet the needs of churches of all sizes. If you are looking for effective accounting software, Quickbooks works seamlessly, and it is almost as if Quickbooks was made for churches.
How To Setup And Use QuickBooks Online
Step 1: Choose a subscription plan (Essentials Plan or Higher Plan)
When setting up QuickBooks Online for your church finances, follow these steps to choose the right subscription plan:
- Determine the size of your church and its payroll needs.
- Choose QuickBooks Online For Accounting and QuickBooks Online Payroll Core, Premium, or Elite.
- Take advantage of our QuickBooks Offer, which includes a 30% discount for 6 months of service.
- Choose the plan that fits your needs and budget.
Step 2: Set up an account
To set up an account on QuickBooks Online for your church, follow these steps:
- Go to the QuickBooks Online website and select the appropriate subscription plan for your church.
- Provide your personal and church information, such as name, address, and tax ID number.
- Link your bank and credit card accounts to QuickBooks Online for seamless transaction integration.
- Customize your account by setting up your chart of accounts, adding vendors and customers, and creating invoices and bills.
- Start tracking your church’s donations and expenses and generating financial statements quickly.
Step 3: Add a customer
Adding a customer to QuickBooks Online for your church is easy. Follow these simple steps:
- Step 1: Log in to QuickBooks Online and click on the “Sales” tab on the left-hand side of the screen.
- Step 2: Click “Customers” at the top of the screen.
- Step 3: Click on the green “New customer” button on the right-hand side of the screen.
- Step 4: Fill out the customer’s information in the appropriate fields. This includes their name, email address, phone number, and billing address.
- Step 5: Save the customer’s information by clicking on the blue “Save” button at the bottom of the screen.
Congratulations, you have successfully added a customer to QuickBooks Online for your church! Repeat these steps as needed to add more customers to your account.
Step 4: Create a transaction
To create a transaction in QuickBooks Online for your church, follow these steps:
- Log in to your QuickBooks Online account and click the “+” button in the top right corner.
- Select the appropriate account for the transaction, such as “Sales Receipt” for donations or “Expense” for event expenses.
- Enter the transaction details, including the date, amount, and relevant notes or reference numbers.
- Be sure to accurately categorize the transaction by selecting the appropriate account or adding a new one if necessary.
- Save the transaction and double-check that all information is correct before finalizing it.
Step 5: Manage your finances
QuickBooks Online is an excellent tool for managing your church’s finances. It lets you easily record financial transactions such as donations, tithes, and offerings. To record these transactions, you can create a “Sales Receipt” or “Invoice” in QuickBooks Online.
Be sure to categorize each transaction appropriately by creating accounts for each type of donation or offering. You can also add a memo to each transaction to give more details.
To reconcile your bank accounts, you can connect your bank account to QuickBooks Online. This will allow you to easily match transactions in QuickBooks Online with transactions in your bank account.
You can use the “Reports” feature in QuickBooks Online to generate financial reports. You can generate reports such as income statements and balance sheets to help you make informed financial decisions.
Step 6: Use restricted donation tracking
To use the restricted donations tracking feature in QuickBooks Online for churches, follow these steps:
- Set up a class for each program, department, or fund you want to track.
- Record the full donation in a Sales Receipt, including the donor’s name, date of online donation, payment method, reference number, deposit to “Undeposited Funds,” product/service, full donation amount, and class (if using classes to track designated funds).
- Use the Bank Deposit feature to subtract any online processing fees from the “Undeposited Funds” deposit and select the expense account you use to track your online processing fees.
- Make sure the amount in the top right corner equals your actual deposit.
- View income and expenses for each class by generating a statement of activities.
By using the class feature in QuickBooks Online, churches can easily track restricted funds and ensure they are used appropriately. This feature provides a powerful tool for managing donations designated for specific purposes and can help prevent confusion and mismanagement of funds.
Should A Nonprofit Organization Upgrade From Quickbooks Desktop Accounting Software To Quickbooks Online?
As nonprofit organizations continue to grow and expand, there may come a time when upgrading from Quickbooks desktop accounting software to Quickbooks online becomes necessary. Quickbooks Online offers many advantages over the desktop version, including accessing the software from any device with an internet connection, automatic data backups, and real-time collaboration with team members.
Quickbooks online offers a more streamlined and efficient interface, making it easier to manage financial records, track expenses, and generate reports. However, there are also potential drawbacks, such as the need for a stable internet connection, increased monthly fees, and additional security concerns.
The decision to upgrade to Quickbooks online should be based on your place of worship’s specific needs and resources. If the benefits outweigh the costs, the transition may result in improved financial management and increased productivity.
What Makes Quickbooks Accounting Software For Small Churches The Right Choice?
Quickbooks online accounting software is the right choice for small churches for several compelling reasons.
- Firstly, it is user-friendly software with an intuitive interface that enables even those with no accounting background to manage their financials easily.
- Secondly, Quickbooks online offers many features and functionalities tailored to small churches’ needs. These include tracking contributions, managing budgets, creating custom reports, and automating payroll.
- Thirdly, Quickbooks is a cost-effective solution for small churches since it offers various pricing options for different budgets.
- Finally, Quickbooks is a secure tool that protects sensitive data from unauthorized access and maintains compliance with industry-standard security protocols.
Frequently Asked Questions
What features does QuickBooks for Churches offer?
QuickBooks for Churches includes restricted fund management tools, donation collection and recording tools, and bank syncing capabilities. Other features include:
- Tracking expenses by committee, program, or fund
- Tagging transactions to pastoral, youth, missions, and outreach programs
- Creating unique user IDs for each volunteer with access level assignment
- Automatic categorization of expenses and creation of reports
- Tracking of donations and pledges
- Generating cash flow statements and financial reports
- Paying employees and contractors by direct deposit or check
- Issuing and filing W-2s and 1099s for contractors
- Customizable to fit the needs of any size church or organization
How does QuickBooks for Churches compare to other accounting software?
If you are thinking of running QuickBooks at your church but don’t know if another accounting software may be a better option, it is always recommended to research before choosing your software of choice. Quickbooks is a fantastic accounting system and allows a nonprofit or church the ability to have access to your accounting from your phone or home computer.
Quickbooks is used by churches throughout the US, and it is a tried and true option that continues to advance and add new features each year. Smaller churches and large mega-churches are running QuickBooks for their church as Quickbooks allows flexibility and ease of use.
Does QuickBooks for Churches offer donation tracking?
Yes, QuickBooks for Churches offers donation tracking. This feature allows you to track each donation and tag it to a specific committee, program, or fund.
What are the QuickBooks for Churches mobile apps like?
Integrity Now Insurance Brokers has found the mobile apps to be easy to use, and we wish we had transitioned from the desktop app to the online version of Quickbooks sooner.
What features does QuickBooks for Churches have for religious organizations?
QuickBooks offers a variety of features for religious organizations such as churches. These features include restricted fund management tools, offering collection, and recording tools, adding volunteers and staff members to the software, financial institution syncing capabilities, and tracking expenses by committee, program, or fund.
About Integrity Now Insurance Brokers: Church Insurance Agency
Integrity Now Insurance Brokers helps churches with their church property insurance needs. We strive to help new and established churches with risk management processes and maintain a secure accounting program as part of assisting churches to protect themselves from employee theft.
Our church insurance agents help our clients purchase general liability insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, cyber liability coverage, business auto insurance, abuse and molestation insurance, employment practice liability, directors and officer insurance, and religious belief coverage.
While church insurance coverage is one form of risk management, there are additional risk management practices churches can implement to protect their church finances.
As your church insurance consultants, we are here to help your religious organization obtain the needed church insurance protection. Call us today and request a church insurance quote.
